Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2011

Explanations First: A Case for Presenting Explanations Before the Decision in Dutch Bad-News Messages

Frank Jansen Utrecht University ; Daniël Janssen University of Antwerp

Abstract

In argumentative texts, authors must choose between two presentation orders: providing the decision or claim first and then the explanation (direct order) or providing the explanation first and then the decision (indirect order). This study addresses which presentation order is most effective when the decision entails bad news by discussing two experiments that evaluate Dutch letters and e-mails. The first experiment evaluates denial letters from insurance companies and rejection letters to job applicants in which the presentation order is manipulated. The second experiment replicates the first, using a different medium (e-mail) and other instances of bad news. The results of both experiments indicate that readers perceive texts with the indirect order as more comprehensible and agreeable and its writer as more competent and empathic. Readers are also more inclined to comply with the decision in such texts when the explanation is presented first.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2011-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651910380372
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
digital rhetoric
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Citation Context

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